The defect
Champion Bus, Inc. (Champion Bus) is recalling certain model year 2006-2014 American Coach, American Crusader, Challenger, Corporal, Crusader, CTS-FE, CTS-RE, Defender, HCAC, HC American, Platinum Shuttle, and Stacked Rail transit buses manufactured January 1, 2006, to July 31, 2014, equipped with certain model S2005, S2010, S5005, S5010, S5505, and S5510 wheelchair lifts manufactured by Ricon Corporation. The platform side plate of the affected wheelchair lifts may crack.
The risk
If the platform side plates crack, the lift platform can separate from the lift and come to rest against the vehicle's lift door. When the doors are opened, the platform may fall out, increasing the risk of injury to the lift operator.
The remedy
Champion Bus will notify owners to take buses to a Ricon dealer or service center who will install supplemental platform support bumpers. Any platform that has already started cracking will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began in November 2014. Owners may contact Champion Bus customer service at 1-810-724-6474. Owners may contact Ricon customer service at 1-800-322-2884.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Champion American Coach | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Champion American Crusader | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Champion Challenger | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Champion Corporal | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Champion Crusader | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Champion CTS-FE | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Champion CTS-RE | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Champion Defender | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Champion HC American | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Champion Hcac | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Champion Platinum Shuttle | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Champion Stacked Rail | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
Components: EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Champion American Coach | 2006 | 0 | 2 |
| Champion American Coach | 2007 | 0 | 2 |
| Champion American Coach | 2008 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion American Coach | 2009 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion American Coach | 2010 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion American Coach | 2011 | 0 | 3 |
| Champion American Coach | 2012 | 0 | 3 |
| Champion American Coach | 2013 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion American Coach | 2014 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion American Crusader | 2006 | 0 | 2 |
| Champion American Crusader | 2007 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion American Crusader | 2008 | 0 | 3 |
| Champion American Crusader | 2009 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion American Crusader | 2010 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion American Crusader | 2011 | 0 | 2 |
| Champion American Crusader | 2012 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion American Crusader | 2013 | 0 | 5 |
| Champion American Crusader | 2014 | 0 | 5 |
| Champion Challenger | 2006 | 0 | 9 |
| Champion Challenger | 2007 | 0 | 9 |
| Champion Challenger | 2008 | 0 | 10 |
| Champion Challenger | 2009 | 0 | 11 |
| Champion Challenger | 2010 | 0 | 8 |
| Champion Challenger | 2011 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion Challenger | 2012 | 1 | 5 |
| Champion Challenger | 2013 | 0 | 7 |
| Champion Challenger | 2014 | 1 | 6 |
| Champion Corporal | 2006 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion Corporal | 2007 | 0 | 2 |
| Champion Corporal | 2008 | 0 | 2 |
Other equipment adaptive/mobility recalls in 2014
44 of the 770 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2014 concerned the equipment adaptive/mobility; Champion Bus, Inc. filed 16 campaigns in all.
| 14V825000 29 Dec 2014 | Dodgen Industries, Inc. |
| 14V799000 17 Dec 2014 | Farber Specialty Vehicles |
| 14V780000 8 Dec 2014 | Kingmor Supply, Inc. |
| 14V766000 2 Dec 2014 | Double K Inc. |
| 14V767000 2 Dec 2014 | Halcore Group, Inc. |
| 14V728000 13 Nov 2014 | Ameritrans Bus, Inc. |
| 14V729000 13 Nov 2014 | Forest River, Inc. |
| 14V730000 13 Nov 2014 | Forest River, Inc. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2014